After three runner-up finishes, Barno finally wins Twin Cities Marathon
A familiar name finally claimed victory at Sunday's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.
After finishing as runner-up the past three years, Elisha Barno broke through and won the men's title with a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 58 seconds. Sinke Biyadgilgn won the women's marathon title with a time of 2:33:04.
Race officials reported that more than 6,800 runners finished the 37th annual marathon, while a record 10,896 runners finished the accompanying 20th annual Medtronic TC 10 Mile race. Runners took to the two course on a cool, calm morning, with temperatures in the 40s.
Barno, who is from Kenya and trains in New Mexico, also has won the past four Grandma's Marathons in Duluth. On Sunday he finished 14 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, fellow Kenyan Boniface Kongin.
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Race officials reported that Barno took the lead at Mile 25.
"I tried to push and I saw Boniface was very strong," Barno said in a post-race news release. "Boniface put on a surge and I was right with him. I feel very happy and feel like I want to cry — to be a champion is not easy."
Biyadgilgn, of Ethiopia, won the women's marathon title with a time of 2:33:04. That's six seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Ethiopia's Serkalem Abrha.
The top Minnesota marathon finishers were Tyler Jerman of Burnsville, who finished fifth in the men's field with a time of 2:19:39, and Tierney Wolfgram of Woodbury, who at the age of just 15 finished sixth in the women's field in 2:40:03.
Hermin Garic of Utica, N.Y. won the men's wheelchair title in 1:53:00; Rebecca Walker of Little Canada, Minn., won the women's wheelchair title in 3:01:13.
TC 10 Mile race
The 10-mile race saw repeat winners in both the men's and women's fields. The race also served as USA Track and Field's 10-mile championship.
Shadrack Kipchirchir of Colorado Springs, Colo., won the men's title in 46:32, breaking the course record by three seconds. Hall, of Flagstaff, Ariz., won in 52:47.
Kipchirchir won the race's $10,000 Equalizer Bonus as the first runner — male or female — to cross the finish line; the competition had women runners start 5 minutes, 45 seconds ahead of the men.